'Part one' because I have sooo many questions. Ive read so much about weight training recently it seems like the more I read, the more questions it throws up. Anyway, question one; Just how much rest does the body need after it has been worked?It is suggested that 36 hours is needed to rest a muscle after it has been trained. Does this mean a specific muscle group or the whole body. The reason I ask is because some workout templates suggest a workout in which you train the first day, rest the next day and then workout again, eg. TrTrTrr.
But then another template would suggest you can work out two days in a row, I presume working different muscle groups on each day. TTrTTrr
Can someone please explain?

'Part one' because I have sooo many questions. Ive read so much about weight training recently it seems like the more I read, the more questions it throws up.

Experience is the best teacher. Reading about things is OK, but it isn't a substitute for actually doing things. I would recommend that you keep a training diary. Nothing fancy, just some sort of written record of your weight training experiences. When you're starting out, don't worry so much about not getting it right the first time. Just be open to new ideas, and be enthusiastic about lifting. Before very long, some newbie will be asking you for advice.

Dean wrote:

question one; Just how much rest does the body need after it has been worked?It is suggested that 36 hours is needed to rest a muscle after it has been trained. Does this mean a specific muscle group or the whole body. The reason I ask is because some workout templates suggest a workout in which you train the first day, rest the next day and then workout again, eg. TrTrTrr.But then another template would suggest you can work out two days in a row, I presume working different muscle groups on each day. TTrTTrrCan someone please explain?

You presume correctly - you can workout on consecutive days if you use split routines that target different muscle groups.

As for the amount of time you should take between resting a trained muscle, it depends on a number or factors. But as a rule of thumb, you should wait 48 hours.

Recovery time is highly variable, and will depend on a number of factors, including the volume and intensity of your workouts, your age, your diet, and how much sleep you get. It's been my experience that among dedicated gymrats overtraining is much more of a problem than undertraining, so when in, doubt take a little extra rest.

Also, it's perfectly alright to train one muscle group while another is recovering, but you have to be a careful, since compound movements train more than just the target muscle. For example, bench pressing is primerrily a chest exercise, but it also works the front deltoids and triceps pretty hard. Therefore, it wouldn't make sense to train shoulders and/or triceps the day after benching.

I'll second stephen on the experience being the best teacher. I"m pretty new to gym myself and while I hired a trainer to get started, I also read and read and read. After my first cycle, and my trining sessions, were done I was left dazed and confused about how to go about putting a good routine together. Well, experts aren't made over night, and each body is different.

Start with simple compound movements, notes how you feel after your work out, what you thought were the strong and weak points. Experiment with what available. I was trying to figure out my form for assisted chin up yesterday in the gym. I took me a bit to figure out how high to put the cross bar in the rack. Too high and I was using my legs more than my back and arms, too low I couldn't get any help from my legs. Couple of chicks on the elipicals where highly amused. Emabrrasing? Just until I got some phone numbers...

Anyway, keep it basic and go from there. Periodize with different rep/set ranges, set goals like learn 1 new back exercise this week.

My current routing is 7-8 exercises, I split torso and legs/arms, us antagonist movements (push followed by pull, visa versa). I have 1 exercise for each basic movement each day and they get worked 2x a week each. I use the 1-2 extra exercises to learn a new exercise and practice form with light weights. I want to start working on Olympic lifts for to build up my strength, so I practice from for these lifts. At the end of this cycle I'll start going heavier with the O Lifts and target a few places I want to add size to. You've got time, don't be in a rush.

My current 8week goal is to fight analysys paralysis. I'm limiting what I read to certain subjects and only looking for stuff surrounding my goals.

I think at least 48 and no more then 96 for someone new to lifting. Keep reading and keep lifting. It takes a lot of time. I probably spent as much time on it as I would to earn an associates degree. You get beginner gains, so that will work while you figure out what you are doing. Then by the time they are over, you should know some things. Then you'll keep gaining because you know a good way to do it that works for you. Experience teaches too. Right now just lift heavy, keep the volume low and no tricks (drop sets, negatives, cheats, etc). Save all that kind of stuff for later.

Thanks Steve, Mattz, Elemental and Ironman for your imput.
Just one short question for now.
If it is ok to train two days in a row, ensuring that you don't work the same muscle group on each day, then why as templates suggest, do we not lift on the third,sixth and seventh day?wwxwwxx. If you ensure that you don't work the same muscle group two days in a row, then why not lift everyday. It would appear that the whole body needs a rest day, but why?

And while I'm here, has any one had adverse effects from eating a lot of tuna. I thought tuna (being high in protein) in Wholemeal bread would be a quick and easy small meal to eat throughout the day while at work. Perhaps not!

If it is ok to train two days in a row, ensuring that you don't work the same muscle group on each day, then why as templates suggest, do we not lift on the third,sixth and seventh day?wwxwwxx. If you ensure that you don't work the same muscle group two days in a row, then why not lift everyday. It would appear that the whole body needs a rest day, but why?

Because your body is a unit, not a collection of "muscle groups."

Muscles don't grow in the gym. They grow when they are rested and nourished outside the gym, provided that they were properly challenged by your workout. If you perform low-intensity workouts, you could exercise every day. But if your aim is to build muscle, you have to train hard then take time off to recover. The further you progress in weight training, the more crucial rest becomes for you to continue to progress.

Dean wrote:

And while I'm here, has any one had adverse effects from eating a lot of tuna. I thought tuna (being high in protein) in Wholemeal bread would be a quick and easy small meal to eat throughout the day while at work. Perhaps not!

The adverse effect that I've had with tuna is bad breath. Eating tuna all day is not recommended if you have a hot date that night. ;-)

Seriously, there are some concerns with the level of mercury in tuna, so eating it indiscriminately might be problematic for some people. But most dieticians would recommend eating a varied diet so all your nutritional bases are covered. Tuna and whole grain bread have little vitamin A or C, for example. Maybe try topping your sandwich with romaine lettuce and tomato, or eat some fruit.

Hi Dean. I almost never post over Stephen, because he's usually absolutely correct. And I think he may be this time as well. I have heard, though, that eating excessive amounts of tuna (mercury) MAY have negative effects. Now, I'm speaking in the 2-3 cans a day range. I recently saw a 60 minutes episode where a kid got sick eating tuna at that level. My only question is how valid was that report? The media has been known to twist things around at times. Just some food for though and maybe something to research.
Tim

Most of the articles that I've read about mercury risk in canned tuna (for example, this one) focus on pregnant women and young children. Whether the results can be extrapolated to healthy adult bodybuilders is debateable, but why take the chance?

Personally, I've replaced canned tuna with canned salmon. It has much lower mercury levels, as well as a better profile of fats, particularly omega 3 fats. And to be honest, I was never a big fan of canned tuna, anyway. Mike Matarazzo, the bodybuilder, once said that he added canned tuna in a blender to his protein drinks. Yuck!! :-(

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